Saturday, July 28, 2012

Was that game just completely boring or was that game completely uninteresting? Those are the only two options I'm giving you, and the good news you can't go wrong with either answer.

What Went Wrong: Well, aside from the obvious, which is scoring zippo against Bronson Arroyo and company, I'd like to focus on the continued defensive struggles of Wilin Rosario, which were on full display during the 6th inning once Adam Ottavino was summoned. In the span of I believe three pitches, Rosario was unable to knock down two of them, which allowed Ryan Ludwick to come around from second base (without a ball being put in play) with Cincinnati's third and final run.

The first one was an obvious wild pitch, one that no catcher in baseball would have been able to smother. But the awful technique and the awkward looking stab he made at the ball were detectable to even the least experienced baseball watcher. It was brutal.

The second should have been much easier to block and keep in front of him, but Rosario failed to stay down allowing the ball to squirt between his legs.

That technique leaves an awful lot to be desired, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't it pain me to watch him struggle to that extent for a couple of reasons.

1. I really like the kid and really want to see him succeed. That's the obvious one.

2. At times his technique looks so bad you almost wonder if it's possible he'll never improve. I'm sure he will in time, mainly because he seems like the type who will put in all of the extra work necessary, but it's discouraging/disappointing when you're constantly reminded just how far away he is from getting there. Time is on his side, though, so let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best.Drew Pomeranz's Line: 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 87 pitches (57 strikes)

Pomeranz didn't have his best stuff in this outing, but it was far from awful or discouraging. And honestly, just the fact that he looked healthy after having his last start pushed back a few days is all I really needed to see here. Hopefully everything feels normal on Saturday and he's good to go again when scheduled next week.

Screengrab of the Game

Something seems a bit out of place here.

Marco Scutaro Traded: To the San Francisco Giants for Triple-A second baseman Charlie Culberson.

Analysis: I'm not even sure this trade is worth liking or disliking or analyzing too deeply at this point. It's basically the Rockies saying we have no further use for Marco Scutaro, you take him and we'll give you a little gas money to keep him. All you have to do is give us a young guy you have no use for and we'll call it even.

Culberson fits that bill as a 23-year-old former first round pick... in 2007. He's made steady progress through the Giants system and even made his major league debut on May 13 when the they were in desperate need of infield depth. He posted an uninspiring .136 batting average over 22 at-bats, and is a .258/.309/.379 career hitter in the minors (five seasons).

Like I said, this trade probably isn't even worth getting excited about one way or the other because we're likely to forget it ever happened a year or two from now. Hopefully I'm as wrong on this one as I was on the Jeremy Guthrie deal.

What's Next: The Rockies will go from Bronson Arroyo to Johnny Cueto (12-5, 2.23) on Saturday night. That's not a good thing... on paper. But maybe Christian Friedrich (5-7-, 5.71) will bring his A game and something surprisingly positive (or at least watchable) will come out of this one. Who knows? Tune in at 6:10 if you want to know.

Final Thoughts: Hats off to the 12 Colorado Rockies players and manager Jim Tracy for taking time on Thursday to visit with survivors of the Aurora theatre shooting and the hard-working hospital staff. It was very cool to see that, and it was a great honor for me to write about it for Big League Stew on Friday.